BETA

Excerpts from an article written by Dinesh D. Dodamgoda for a Sri Lankan news paper The Morning Leader.

The question of destroying LTTE’s military capability has dominated our strategic discourse for more than three decades. The answer of a war of attrition against the LTTE, has been as immutable and inscrutable as religious belief. The present government has clearly indicated their determination to continue fighting against the LTTE and they believe that this strategy would ensure their victory over terrorism. However for those strategists who accept terrorism as a tactic but not as an ideology, the process of weakening the LTTE’s military capability prior to political negations is of paramount importance. This article is an attempt to assess ‘the question of destroying the LTTE’s military capability’ as a means of reaching a permanent political solution.
 

Despite many interpretations of our history, theoretically and empirically it is evident that Sinhalese and Tamils display two different identities. We have few similarities and many differences. Historically, culturally and politically we are two divided ethnic groups and history has produced more evidence to prove division between Sinhalese and Tamils than to prove harmony between them. The Tamil secessionist movement was born with the gradual enlightenment of many Tamils who now believe and advocate the idea that the Tamils can have neither justice nor a future from a Sinhalese government. Therefore, there will be no harmony between Tamils and Sinhalese and this reality has emerged as a result of historical, cultural and political polarisation.

Sole representative

Tamil secessionism has no geographical boundaries and therefore, the truth I have observed is that the vast majority of the Tamil diaspora supports and promotes this ideology regardless of where they are based. Furthermore, since secessionism is an ideology and not an organisation, the secessionists need an organisation in order to achieve their aim. There is no argument that the LTTE is currently the sole representative of Tamil secessionism.

It is in this socio-political context, that the question of destroying the LTTE’s military capability has dominated our strategic discourse for so many years. The original idea put forward by our strategic advisors was to destroy or dismantle the LTTE.

However, after realising the limitations presented of our military capability, we have amended this tactic and diverted our focus to weakening the LTTE. Nevertheless, there are two limits to this weakening process: a psychological limit and a physical limit. No one knows where these limits lie except the LTTE leadership. Therefore, we do not know with certainty when to stop fighting and when to start negotiations and therefore, this duplicity strategically blinds us.

On the other hand, the LTTE may not come to the negotiation table when they are weak. Furthermore, there is no point in bringing them to the negotiation table when they are weak because they will not be representing the Tamil secessionists’ original ideology which is imperative to reach a permanent solution. Why is this so important? It is evident that the Tamil community will not accept any political agreement that was reached by a representative backed against a wall. As we have already seen in other contexts such as Northern Ireland, secessionism (or any other political ideology which has a communal base) will consistently reappear, forming various organisations as the heirs of the struggle for an independent state until their fundamental issue, secessionism, is addressed. Therefore, there are no shortcuts, gimmicks or options; it is important to bring the sole representative of Tamil secessionism to the negotiation table if we are looking for a permanent political solution. Thus, weakening the LTTE does not mean anything in terms of reaching a permanent political solution.

Ample Evidence

Furthermore, history has proven that the process of attrition is counterproductive against an ideology based on asymmetric warfare. It deepens the societal polarisation and strengthens the determination of the secessionists and their ideology because it spreads hatred everywhere; not only in the Vanni but in Colombo too. And not only in the hearts and minds of Tamils but also in the hearts and minds of Sinhalese. Furthermore the escalation of violence, killings, abductions and human rights violations as a part of this process will provide more evidence to the secessionists that the Tamils can have neither justice nor a future from the Sinhalese majority and so there will be no solution to their woes except a separate state. This evidence will be presented to the international community, which is instrumental in recognising nation states. Many believe however that interested nations will stop at nothing to prevent the spread of secessionist ideology, especially India, the USA and the UK. India especially, they say, will do everything in its power to disallow an example of secessionism from emerging within the SAARC region. I feel that this too is a myth. The end of the Cold War and rules of contemporary international law suggest to us that there is a context in which secession is possible, by pushing the idea using diplomatic terms such as internal and external ‘self-determination’.

Therefore, whether we believe it or not, we do not have many options before us since our society is ethnically polarised. The first option is to succumb to secessionism. The other difficult option is maximum power sharing, which gives certain autonomy for the Tamils over selected subjects. There is no magical middle ground.